


but i’ll admit i do it all for the attention

by sohncore



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, eric is an idiot, juyeon is oblivious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:42:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26398090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sohncore/pseuds/sohncore
Summary: Juyeon is a struggling English student and Eric is an idiot with a crush.
Relationships: Lee Juyeon/Son Youngjae | Eric
Comments: 4
Kudos: 115





	but i’ll admit i do it all for the attention

Juyeon loved working at the bookstore. There was something comforting about the smell of books, something that reminded him of home. Walking down the aisles and fingering through the covers transported him back to his childhood bedroom, shelves stacked with books and his mother by his side, ready to read him whichever story he chose that day. But that was then. And now Juyeon was a struggling English student trying to balance studying, working and dealing with a very annoying coworker. As if on cue, said coworker stumbles through the door, the bell ringing angrily and a few customers side-eyeing him as he tries to free his sleeve caught on the handle.

"Sorry I‘m late, hyung!" He attempts to smile in between pants. Juyeon winces, promptly turning his back and heading into the back room. 

”I‘m sorry, I swear I was going to be on time! But then I saw a cat in the road and I couldn’t just leave it there.. you know what I‘m like.. I love animals hyung! I had to save-“ The rambling is cut off by as Juyeon spins on his heels and shoots him a stern glare. 

“This is the third time this week, Eric.“ He sighs, rubbing his temple. "Not to mention the fact that you fell asleep in the classics section yesterday. You were missing for half of your shift!“ 

“It’s not my fault... Classics send me to sleep.” Eric smiles sheepishly and Juyeon has to physically restrain himself from launching at him. It’s almost as if he tries to annoy him on purpose and Juyeon is falling for every second of it. 

“Just try to make it to the end of your shift today.” Juyeon sighs, exasperated. He wasn’t the manager of the store, but his affinity for books (and a dire need to pay the rent) meant he took his job a little too seriously. He picked up a stack of paperbacks and left the room, Eric close behind. 

“What’s so interesting about these old books anyway?” Eric begins to ramble again. “So what if their families didn’t like each other? Did they have to kill themselves? If I loved someone that much I wouldn’t just kill myself.. I’d.. I’d rob a bank for them... or I’d...” Juyeon is almost surprised that Eric seems to know so much about Shakespeare, but he figures he probably looked it up for new material to annoy Juyeon with. Speaking of annoying, Eric’s litany of chatter does not seem to be impressing the customers, at least judging by the looks burning into the side of Juyeon’s head. He sends an apologetic look and lightly kicks Eric’s shin in an attempt to get him to be quiet, nodding to the disapproving customer further down the aisle. It works, at least for a moment, as Eric pauses in surprise, but his ramblings take off again, even if they are at a slightly lower volume. Juyeon sighs, setting down the paperbacks as he prepares himself for a long, long shift.

Juyeon sighed contentedly as he sank further into the old armchair. The back room of the store was dingy and only had a small window for light, but it was the perfect place for him to study. He was surrounded by books, comfortable in the familiar words of Murakami, only disturbed by the odd jingle of the bell as a customer entered the store to browse. That was, until, Juyeon heard a tapping in the doorway. He closed his book, finger still holding the page he was reading, and mustered up his most annoyed look. 

“Do you need something?” He sighed as Eric’s beaten-up converse continued to scuff against the hardwood floor. Eric grinned, Juyeon’s glare seeming to have no effect on him. He obviously needed to work on his facial expressions. 

“There’s a woman our front who’s looking for some help. Something about a 450 degrees?”

“You mean Fahrenheit 451?” Juyeon tries not to laugh as he stands up, but it doesn’t quite work.

“Yeah, that.” If he didn’t know any better, he would describe the look on Eric’s face right now as hurt. “What are you reading anyway?” Juyeon glances down at the book in his hand. He’d already finished the book for his course, and this one was just for his own pleasure.

“Oh, this... it’s nothing.” Juyeon stutters out, feeling his cheeks warm. He loved literature, but when he came to Eric, he valued his pride more. He was not about to let Eric know that Murakami always knew how to get to his feelings, how Toru’s transition into adulthood reminded him so much of himself despite the decades of difference. In short, Eric would never let it go and Juyeon was not prepared to arm him with this kind of information. 

”Oh, come on!“ Eric gave him an almost devilish grin and reached out to grab the book. Juyeon’s height gave him an advantage as he lifted the book out of Eric’s reach, but this didn’t stop him. Eric all but tackled Juyeon, jumping and grabbing as he tried to reach the paperback. He got a hand to it, and pulled hard. There was a loud rip, amplified in the small room. Eric pulls his hand back as if he had been burnt, and stares at Juyeon with wide eyes.

Juyeon could barely keep himself contained. “You ripped my book!” He whisper-shouts. “I can’t believe you ripped my book!” Eric looks like he thinks for a second and Juyeon prays to any god that will listen that he isn’t about to open his mouth. 

His prayers aren’t answered. “This is why you shouldn’t challenge a Phys Ed major.” Eric shrugs. Juyeon takes a deep breath, hands curling into fists. He does not want to have to add convicted murderer his resume as well as an unfinished English degree. He collects the pieces of his book from the ground and storms out of the room, without so much as a glance at the boy in front of him. 

”No.. no! Hyung! I‘m sorry! I really am!“ Eric‘s rambling apologies fade out as Juyeon leaves towards the the front desk, plastering a fake smile on his face as he approaches the woman waiting. 

Juyeon was stressed. Whoever had decided that finals and rent payments would both be in the same week had a special place reserved for them in hell. And while he was pretty confident in his ability, he didn’t have the same confidence for his bank account. He’d taken to working the closing shift in a desperate attempt to scrape together whatever money he could

Said boy had decided the cushions on the chairs scattered around the store were to be his latest victims.

“They’re so... old. Don’t you think, hyung?“ Juyeon‘s eyes flickered up towards the sound. Eric was holding one up to his face, as though he was inspecting it. Juyeon suppressed a laugh and turned his attention back to cashing up the till. That was until something landed against the wood, causing his neatly counted notes to swirl around Juyeon like a snowstorm. And in the heart of that snowstorm is one Eric Sohn, brandishing a goddamn cushion.

“I‘d just finished counting those“ Juyeon almost growls though gritted teeth. Eric has never been one for reading signals. His eyes light up at Juyeon‘s frustration and he lightly swats Juyeon with the cushion. 

“Come on, hyu-“ He doesn’t get to finish as Juyeon snatches the cushion from his grasp and takes an almighty swing at him. Eric shrieks with laughter and darts around the nearest bookshelf and out of Juyeon’s sight. The hint of a smile graces the corners of Juyeon’s lips as he takes off after him. It felt good to let go. The stress of exams and rent and everything that came with being struggling English student melted away as he chased Eric down the aisles, their laughter mixing together to fill the empty store. Between the pounding of their feet against the hardwood floor and the giggles that decorated the air, neither of the boys caught the delicate jingle of the bell that signalled someone had entered the store. That was, until, Juyeon skidded around the corner of a bookshelf and was just about able to stop himself flattening the man at the door.

”Juyeon?” It was his manager. Fuck. His grip on the cushion tightened as excuses bubbled up and threatened to pour out. He swallowed them down and managed a meek ”What are you doing here, sir?” They were interrupted by the squeak of converse against wood as Eric almost collided with the bookshelf, his eyes widening as he realised what was happening.

”I came to return my spare keys as I thought this place would be closed.. but it seems you two had other ideas.” Juyeon’s faced flushed as his manager eyed the cushion, then Eric’s frozen figure.

“I’m so sorry sir... exams have been crazy and we... we just had to relieve some stress... I know it’s inappropriate and I know we could have damaged something... I swear I’ll clean up.” The last part was a desperate whisper as he cast his eyes down to his feet. “Please don’t fire me.” His manager let out a huff of air.

“Alright, but I want to see you two at 9 for opening.” His manager handed Juyeon the spare keys with a warning glare and sighed once more before leaving the store. He felt a presence beside him and turned to see Eric beside him, biting his lip to hold back a smile.

“That was close.” He breathes out, unable to contain his smile as his face lit up. Juyeon didn’t share his sentiment.

“For YOU maybe! I almost hit our manager. Oh my god. I’m so stupid.” He looks back to Eric still sporting his shit-eating grin. “No, you’re the stupid one. Why do I let you get me into this situations?” Juyeon turns away and into the back to grab his coat, muttering under his breath. “Sometimes I wish you were just... less... Eric.“ He doesn’t notice Eric’s expression fall, even after they lock up and part ways.

By some miracle, Juyeon manages to drag himself to the store with a minute to spare. 8:59 technically isn’t late, so he counts this as a win. The store is almost eerily quiet, the jingle of the bell as he opens the door disturbing the silence in a way that feels wrong. Eric is late again, he figures. Nothing out of the ordinary there. He heads towards the back and to his surprise, Eric is there, stuffing hardbacks onto an already overfilled shelf. Juyeon gives him a little wave, but Eric doesn’t lift his head. He’s confused, but shrugs it off, concluding he just didn’t catch the other boy’s attention. They work in a stifling silence for the rest of the morning, Juyeon losing his nerve every time he decided try and break it. The one time he did manage to ask Eric to pass him something, it was practically slammed down in front of him without so much as a second glance. By the time lunch rolled around, Juyeon had had enough.

“What do you want for lunch? I was thinking takeout but I’m not sure what.” Eric was sat in the old armchair in the back, picking at a loose thread as he tucked his knees under his chin. He lifts his head to Juyeon’s voice, appearing to think over the question before he answers quietly.

“I’m not hungry.”

Juyeon cant believe what he’s hearing. “You what? THE Eric Sohn isn’t hungry?” He smiles.

“Nah. I’m good. You get whatever you want though”. Eric returns a tight-lipped smile.

Juyeon’s confusion turned to annoyance. Eric had straight-up ignored him all morning and now was refusing to eat with him? This was so out of character for him and was quite frankly getting on Juyeon’s last nerve. Juyeon only realised he had voiced this all out loud when he heard Eric’s sharp intake of breath.

“So you want me to be more... Eric?” Eric asks sarcastically. 

“Honestly, yeah. I miss you being Eric. Even if you don’t know when to stop talking.”

Eric lets out a dry laugh. “I talk so much because I like you!” Juyeon doesn’t think his eyes could get any wider if he tried. Eric takes a breath, then continues. “I like you, Juyeon. I don’t know how else to show it, so I say anything and do everything even if I know it hurts you or gets us in trouble or whatever. I just like you. And I’m stupid. And I don’t know how else to get your attention.” He reaches down into his bag resting against the armchair, and pulls out a brand new, unripped copy of Norwegian Wood, a pink ribbon tied around it.

“I... I...” Juyeon is speechless. 

Eric starts to stuff the book back into his bag in panic. ”Don’t say anything, hyung. Just pretend I didn’t say anything. Please just forget I-” Eric is cut off by Juyeon pressing his lips to his. The kiss is soft and sweet and everything Juyeon thought of Eric. 

“You didn’t have to annoy me to get my attention” Juyeon laughs against Eric’s mouth. “I like you too, you idiot. I like Eric.”

“Thank god, because I read Shakespeare for you once and I will never again.” They both dissolve into giggles. Juyeon grins at him playfully. ”You just haven’t read the right Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet is overrated. I bet you’re more of a comedy guy. You should read The Taming of the Shrew! The whole play is a trick and I swear-“ Eric rolls his eyes fondly as Juyeon grabs his hand and allows himself to be lead towards the Shakespeare section.

**Author's Note:**

> and so i start my mission to fill the juric tag. title is taken from this is how we do by all time low. comments and kudos r greatly appreciated <3


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